De Anda said the Mayans would have had to crawl on the stomachs through narrow passageways to get to other chambers in the cave.

The cave system was found about 50 years ago by local people, but they didn’t fully explore it.

“Balamku will help rewrite the history of Chichen Itza, in Yucatan. The hundreds of archaeological artifacts, belonging to seven offerings documented so far, are in an extraordinary state of preservation,” said de Anda, Fox News reported. “Because the context remained sealed for centuries, it contains invaluable information related to the formation and fall of the ancient City of Water Wizards, and about who were the founders of this iconic site.”

The Temple of Kulkulkan, also known as El Castillo, counts 91 steps on each of the temple’s four sites with the top platform making the 365th—one step for each day of the year. The pyramid is nearly 100 feet high. (Wibke Carter)

In the AFP report, de Anda was warned by indigenous Mayan people that venomous coral snakes guard the cave system.

De Anda said they discovered one that blocked their access to the cave for about four days.

The archaeologist said that they won’t remove the artifacts and will study them on site, AFP reported.

The findings may tell researchers when exactly the Mayan civilization collapsed.

“Balamku can tell us not only the moment of collapse of Chichen Itza, it can also probably tell us the moment of its beginning,” de Anda told LiveScience, referring to the cave system’s name. “Now, we have a sealed context, with a great quantity of information, including usable organic matter, that we can use to understand the development of Chichen Itza.”

The archaeologist said he hopes that the cave system will lead to Kukulcan, the pyramid.

More than 150 ritual objects—which hold clues to the rise and fall of the ancient Maya—were accidentally discovered in a cave system in Mexico.

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